Secularisation by force: how China tries to make Uyghurs atheist

The genocide of the Uyghurs in East Turkestan — called the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or XUAR) — by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has intensified in recent years.

One of the biggest effects of this genocide process is undoubtedly the de-religionisation of Uyghur Muslims.

The regime has been putting Uyghur and Kazakh Muslims into concentration camps, forcibly sterilising women, separating children from their families and placing them in state orphanages, imprisoning scholars who teach Islam, and banning Islamic sources.

It has also been destroying religious buildings such as mausoleums and cemeteries, demolishing mosques or turning them into entertainment venues such as bars and cafés, and breaking up the Muslim Uyghur family through persecution.

This is all for a single purpose: to erase traces of religion in the Uyghur Homeland.

This article will examine the CCP’s de-religionisation of Uyghur Muslims within the framework of its various brutal crackdowns.

Holistic government campaign since 2014

Firstly, it needs to be reminded that an ominous campaign has unfolded since 2014, targeting the Uyghur Muslim population.

The CCP has orchestrated a large-scale operation that has resulted in the arbitrary detention of an estimated over three million Uyghurs and Kazakhs.

These individuals have been confined in what the Chinese authorities euphemistically label “vocational training centres”, but which the world recognises as concentration camps. [1]

The scale of these detentions is staggering, with up to one in six adult Uyghurs imprisoned at some point.

These periods of imprisonment often occur without charge or trial, for behaviours as innocuous as wearing traditional dress, growing a beard, or communicating with family abroad.

Leaked government directives reveal that even minor actions, such as “having more than three children” are sufficient grounds for detention.

This system of mass internment and coercive indoctrination is a cornerstone of the Chinese government’s strategy to forcibly assimilate the Uyghurs and eradicate their distinct religious and cultural identity.

In a bid to remould their beliefs, detainees are compelled to pledge loyalty to the Party, renounce Islam, learn atheism, Mandarin, and sing songs glorifying communism.

The punishment for speaking their native language, seeking religious education, or engaging in religious practices such as praying, is severe.

Forced sterilisation of Uyghur women

The second point is the forced sterilisation of Uyghur women.

This brutal programme created is a significant aspect of what many international observers such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other human rights organisations have identified as crimes against humanity and a genocide against the Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Turkic Muslims in the Uyghur Region. [2] [3]

And the practice is part of a broader strategy by the CCP to control and reduce the growth of Uyghur populations, which is predominantly Muslim and culturally distinct from the Han Chinese.

By preventing Uyghur women from bearing children, the CCP is effectively attempting to erase future generations of Uyghurs. [4] [5]

This not only impacts the demographic makeup of the region but also threatens the continuity of Uyghur cultural and religious practices, which are integral to their identity.

Testimonies of concentration camp survivors describe the unspeakable suffering caused by forced sterilisation.

Zumrat Dawut

For Zumrat Dawut, the nightmare began with a knock on the door.

Her heart raced as she was summoned to the local clinic, her mind swirling with the rumours that had been circulating like a dark cloud over her community.

Inside the sterile walls, she was stripped of her autonomy, her body subjected to the state’s invasive procedures.

The pain of the surgery was nothing compared to the anguish of knowing she would never again cradle a newborn in her arms. [6]

Gulnar Omirzakh

Gulnar Omirzakh, a mother of three, felt the weight of the state’s decree like a noose tightening around her family. [7]

The officials came with their threats, their promises of detention if she did not comply.

The IUD they forced upon her was more than a device; it was a message that her womb was no longer her own.

The forced sterilisations are no less than a silent genocide, a methodical wiping out of the Uyghurs’ ability to pass down their faith, their traditions, their very identity. [4]

Separation of Uyghur children from parents

The CCP’s strategy also involves forcibly separating Uyghur children from their parents, many of whom have been detained in internment camps or subjected to forced labour. [8]

These children are placed in state-run orphanages or boarding schools, institutions designed not to nurture, but to indoctrinate.

Here, under the watchful eyes of their handlers, they are taught to forget their mother tongue, their traditions, and their faith, and instead embrace a new identity crafted by the state. [9]

The CCP, with its iron grip and relentless ambition, has cast its shadow over this land, seeking not just to control but to transform.

Their target? The hearts and minds of Uyghur children — the future of a people whose very existence is intertwined with Islam and centuries-old traditions.

According to various sources, the number of Uyghur children affected by these policies is substantial.

Amnesty International has documented the experiences of exiled Uyghur parents who have been separated from their children, highlighting the emotional and psychological toll of such separations. [10]

Additionally, reports suggest that up to 900,000 Uyghur children have been placed in these institutions, where they are subjected to cultural assimilation efforts by the Chinese government. [11]

Mihriban & Ablikim

Mihriban and Ablikim’s story clung to the hope that distance would protect their children. [10]

Fleeing to Italy, they left behind their little ones with grandparents, trusting in the safety of family.

But when they themselves were detained, the children were seized and placed in state-run orphanages, schools where innocence was traded for allegiance to the Communist Party.

Desperate, their parents tried to reclaim them, but each attempt was thwarted, the children snatched back by cold, unfeeling hands.

Mukerrem Mahmud

Mukerrem Mahmud knew too well the power of the state. [12]

After her parents were taken, her younger siblings were sent away to boarding schools — places presented as opportunities but in reality, were prisons of the soul.

There, under the guise of education, Uyghur children, like Mukerrem’s siblings, were not just taught but remade into replicas of the perfect Communist citizen.

Religion was a relic, tradition an obstacle.

Targeting of Islamic scholars

Another part of the de-religionisation of Uyghur Muslims is targeting Islamic scholars. [13]

China has turned its gaze toward religious leaders and scholars who stand as pillars of their community.

The CCP’s approach with scholars involves the imprisonment of influential figures under the pretext of charges such as “extremism” and “illegal religious activities”.

Since 2014, reports have documented at least 1,046 cases of detained Turkic religious figures, many of whom have received harsh prison sentences.

The CCP has criminalised ordinary religious practices, such as religious teaching and prayer that occurs outside state-approved mosques, branding them as “extremist activities”.

Imam Oken Mahmet

Imam Oken Mahmet had dedicated his life to the teachings of Islam, passing on the wisdom of the ages to the next generation. [14]

But when his lessons deviated from the state’s sanctioned narrative, he became a marked man. He was soon taken by the authorities, leaving behind a void that could not easily be filled.

Imams and religious leaders have long been the custodians of Uyghur faith, passing down knowledge from generation to generation. But now, they are targets — detained, silenced, erased.

This has created a climate of fear, where even the most devout are forced to hide their faith, to bury their beliefs deep within, where no-one can see.

Demolition of thousands of historical Uyghur sites

The CCP’s campaign does not stop at the leaders themselves.

Families, too, have been dragged into this web of oppression. By targeting the loved ones of abovementioned religious figures, the Party seeks to break their spirits, to extinguish any flicker of resistance.

And it serves as both a punishment and a warning — no-one is beyond the reach of the regime.

China’s crackdown is not only targeting people, but also historical and religious sites in the Uyghur Homeland, that are indicative of the Islamic religion.

Since 2016, it has launched an assault on mosques, shrines, and cemeteries that for centuries have been the heart of Uyghur religious and cultural life.

The exact numbers are staggering — some reports suggest over 16,000 mosques and Islamic shrines have been destroyed or severely damaged. [15]

Kargilik Grand Mosque

This masjid, built around 1540/946 was more than just a place of worship. It was a real symbol of Uyghur fortitude. [16]

But the CCP bulldozed it anyway. A history of over 500 years reduced to dust.

Keriya Id Kah Mosque

And this masjid — even older than Kargilik with its historic gatehouse dating back to around 1200/596 — was another victim of the CCP’s relentless campaign. [16]

The loss of this mosque is not just a blow to the Uyghurs, but to humanity as a whole — a piece of our shared cultural heritage, now lost forever.

Abide Abbas was far from her home when she saw the images: her local mosque, where she had once knelt in prayer, reduced to nothing. [16]

Now living in Turkey, Abide’s grief was overwhelming.

It was not just a building that was destroyed, but a piece of her past, a link to her ancestors, a connection to her faith.

The pain she feels is arguably a microcosm of the broader suffering of the Uyghurs.

Uyghur books and language being erased

This aspect of the Uyghur genocide concerns the banning and destruction of educational religious books. The written word is no longer safe. [17]

The Chinese government has outlawed the teaching of religion at all educational levels, rendering the possession of Islamic materials illegal.

Books that once guided Uyghurs in their faith, that provided solace and wisdom, are now being torn apart, burned, and discarded like trash.

And this cultural and religious erasure extends beyond books and leaders, the Uyghur language itself is under siege.

Conclusion

With all aspects of the multifaceted drive to wipe out the Uyghur people, the social and psychological Impact of this cultural genocide is immeasurable.

Uyghurs are not just losing their books, their leaders, or their places of worship — they are losing their identity, most importantly their faith.

In conclusion, the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign against the Uyghurs is more than just a political conflict; it is a war against the very essence of a religion.

The CCP’s goal is clear: to forge a generation unmoored from its past, unaware of its roots, and oblivious to the prayers that once guided its forefathers.

We should make no mistake, this cultural genocide is not just a crime against the Uyghurs; it is a crime against the world’s collective heritage — a tragedy that demands urgent attention and action from the global community.

As the Uyghur people stand at the brink of erasure, the world must decide: will it stand by as a culture vanishes, or will it rise to preserve the memory, the faith, and the identity of a people whose story is far from over?